Heaven, Hell and Salvation as discussed by Steve Lutz

Here is a recap of a lecture given by Steve Lutz of Calvary Campus Connection at Elements. I had a request for discussing the ramifications that I discussed last post. Here it is! I wrote this recap, but I am adding some of my own thoughts as well. Hell is a tricky subject to address because of the seriousness of the outcome. So I am allowing someone much smarter than me to explain.

            Steve discussed Matthew 25:31-46, which is essentially an apocalyptic section of scripture in which Jesus describes his role in the final judgment. Unfortunately, we have over used popular references to Heaven and Hell, causing us to think lightly of the subject and to have incorrect ideas of what Heaven and Hell are really like. Countless cartoons, movies, television shows and other pop culture references have eroded the seriousness of hell. The overuse in pop culture, as well as the evangelical practice to focus almost completely on God’s love and not on his just nature further causes us to not guard against sin. We view God as a big grandpa in heaven who thinks, “Oh that’s alright, they’re just having a good time” I believe Steve called it “winking at sin”. The Bible discusses times when God was "grieved" by sin. 1 Samuel 15:10-11

Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions."...

            Steve went on to discuss other inaccurate beliefs of the end time. Some people view an eternity in hell as a bit unfair. That everyone should get into heaven. He discussed the book Love Wins by Rob Bell and criticized Rob Bell for his theory that Jesus died for all people regardless of whether they recognize he saved them. This led into a discussion of why judgment day is so important. Firstly, Acts 17:30-31 calls for everyone to repent for there will be a time of judgment. Secondly, Revelations 6:15-17 talks about the extent that God’s wrath will be and that men and Kings would rather be crushed under a mountain of rock than face God’s wrath. Finally, Hebrews 10:28-31, the writer discusses the wrath God will have on those who have rejected Jesus. The message of these three scriptures is that if there is no judgment day, if everyone is allowed into heaven, then evil is never punished, God is not just and Jesus felt the wrath of all of our sins for no reason. Steve used the illustration of a lifeguard jumping in to save us from a shallow fountain.  But God is just, evil is repaid and Jesus died for our salvation.

Romans 3:21-26 discusses being justified by Christ. Paul uses the term “justified” as in a legal sense. Steve used an illustration of standing in a courtroom before God, who has every wrong move we ever made and it’s a long list. And we are guilty of every single last one of them (no forensic evidence needed, direct access to our thoughts and motivations means CSI doesn’t need to be called in for this one) but Jesus stands up before God and declares that sin already paid for. Crazy right?

To hammer home the point we discussed working definitions for Heaven and Hell. First Hell:

·      It is Biblical, Jesus himself talks about it on multiple occasions

·      A real, spiritual, eternal destination (Matt. 25:41-46)

·      It’s forever. (Jude 13; Rev. 20:10)

·      It’s the JUST penalty for sin. (Rev. 20:11-15)

·      It is unspeakably awful. (Luke 16:23)

·      A place of destruction (2 Thess. 1:7-9; 2 Pet. 3:7; 1 Thes. 5:3)

·      Fire and darkness (Matt. 5:22; 18:9; Jude 7, 13)

·      Weeping & gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30)

Then Heaven:

·      Heaven is the place where God dwells (Psalm 33:13-14; Matt 6:9)

·      Where God’s people will be with him (John 17:5, 24; 1 Thes. 4:16-17)

·      A place of rest (John 14:2); a city (Heb. 11:10); a country (Heb. 11:16)

·      It is the place where God’s reign and rule are FULLY and FINALLY known and experienced. (Matthew 6)

·      It is where everyone and everything that remains is reconciled to God (Colossians 1)

·      There is NO evil, pain, tears, suffering, sickness or death there (Revelation 21)

·      It will be HERE, on this earth. The City of God descends to earth! New Jerusalem, new heavens, new earth (Rev. 21) 

·      It is unspeakably beautiful, wonderful. It is described as a place of joy, of LIGHT, of feasting, and of worship. (Revelation 4, 5, 19, 21)

·      It is forever! (Rev. 22:5) 

So now that we have a working definition for both Heaven and Hell how do we get to heaven? Belief in Jesus. There is no other way. If you are in doubt, check out John 14:6 and Acts 4:11-12. They don’t leave much (any) wiggle room. Actions without faith, good intentions with out faith, and just being a “good person” without faith will not be enough to satisfy God’s wrath. (Refer back to Romans 3:23 for why those things without faith will not be enough) There is no “second chance”, there is no biblical proof for Purgatory, there is simply heaven and hell. C.S. Lewis discusses this when he talks about people being on eternal trajectory either away from God or towards God. He also goes on to say that ultimately, people in hell have chosen that place and are not banging on the gates of heaven trying to escape. Here is a quote from C.S. Lewis’ work The Great Divorce,

"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened. "

If we truly believe in Jesus than we will desire to follow his will. The only way to do that is to ask for the Holy Spirit.

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." 1 Corinthians 2:11

Two last things: First, true Christians recognize that we deserve hell and that redemption is only possible through the amazing grace that God so graciously pours out on us. This should humble you because essentially we are no better than the nonbeliever the only difference is that we have the hope of Christ inside us. This leads to the second point: there is an urgency with which we need to spread the gospel. If we truly believe this, then to not spread the Gospel and give people the chance to be redeemed, we are condemning those people and risking our own salvation.

Until next time, God Bless.